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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. last — final
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rule — government
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. last — to go on
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cold — an illness
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. lie — to recline
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rule — a law
  19. last — finally
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — not warm
  22. shower — to wash
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com